Peter Dixon, chief technology officer of Dimension Data`s Team Source, offers his perspective on innovation management.
For any organisation to thrive in today`s competitive business environment, innovation is critical as it is viewed as an important growth strategy as well as an invaluable competitive advantage. However, according to a 3M innovation survey conducted in 2000, fewer than 40% of companies have formal procedures in place to manage innovation*. The question is: who is responsible for innovation within an organisation?
According to Dimension Data`s Dixon, the responsibility of innovation should rest upon the shoulders of an organisation`s management team, whose duty it is to instil a culture of innovation throughout the entire company. An innovation steering committee, consisting of leaders renowned for their innovative insight and ability to recognise opportunities, should be established to recognise valuable and innovative ideas and react accordingly.
"Strategic partners of the organisation, including suppliers, external service providers and business consulting partners, also provide valuable assistance to the innovation process and should form an integral part of the innovation steering committee," adds Dixon.
A PricewaterhouseCoopers study on innovation confirms Dixon`s premise that ideas also originate from a variety of sources outside the organisation. According to the study, 66% of ideas originate from customers, suppliers, market intelligence and other specialists, while 29% originates from employees and 5% from competitors**.
In addition to the mentioned external factors, Dixon believes the innovation process also needs to incorporate the innovative ideas generated by internal groups and staff. This will ensure a thought-generation culture that extends to the relationships employees have with valued customers and suppliers.
Innovation and technology
Information technology has been recognised as a major contributor to the innovation process through the deployment of solutions that allow for agility within the business environment. However, according to the 3M innovation survey, less than 15% of companies have any IT systems in place to manage innovation.
Dixon suggests using enterprise architecture (EA), the process of aligning information technology to business strategies, in conjunction with the innovation steering committee to act as an IT innovation sounding board. The enterprise architecture steering committee will act as a gatekeeper, ensuring that all innovative ideas emanating from the IT domain are aligned with the organisation`s business and technical strategies.
Innovation is not a product of chance or a quirk of fate and therefore needs to be formally addressed within organisations. Establishing a systematic process to capitalise on creativity is essential for organisations operating in today`s ever-increasing competitive business climate.
"It is essential that organisations foster a culture where innovation is promoted and thought leadership encouraged, resulting in an organisation that is continuously refining its value proposition so that it remains competitive and at the leading edge of technology," concludes Dixon.
The Dimension Data/First Tuesday innovations event takes place on Tuesday, 30 March 2004 at The Campus in Bryanston.
* 3M Innovation Survey, 2000
** PricewaterhouseCoopers Innovation Study, 2000
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Dimension Data Holdings plc (LSE: DDT) is a leading global technology company. The group provides solutions and services that optimise and manage the performance of IT infrastructures to enable business to build a competitive advantage. To achieve this, the group delivers solutions using its proprietary `Application Network` architectural framework and its expertise in networking, application integration and managed services.
Dimension Data, founded in 1983, had revenues of $2.1 billion in 2003 and operates in 30+ countries with over 7 500 employees.
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